Collapsible boat



June 12, 1945. E, RABJOHN COLLAPS-IBLE BOAT Filed July 26,, 1944Imnentor LLOYD E. RABJOHN.

Patented June 12, 19 45 s PATENT, OFFICE UNITED STATE astute '7 Claims.

My present invention relates to collapsible boats and has for a generalobject the provision of a boat which, when collapsed and folded, can bereadily transported by a single person and yet is capable of carryingseveral people.

Another object of the invention is to provide'a boat, depending mainlyupon inflated elastic tubes for buoyancy, which is not easily capsized;a further object being to provide, in such a boat,

bers and the tops of the end walls with the bottoms of these members.

Secured to the top portion of each of the side walls 20 and 2|, andextending the run length thereof, are metallic channels 26 and2'l which,as best seen in Fig. 3, fit snugly over the adjacent portions of therespective side members I3-M and l5l6. To reinforce the junctions of theside members there is provided a pair of sliding means supported by theinflated tubes and formcatches 28 and 29, one of which is shown indei-ng a freeboard "which protects the interior of tail in s- 4- theboat from waves and from entrance of water Convenielrlltly, the sidewal1s242025andh2l are when the boat is rocked. I hinged to t e two-parbottom- ,w ich two Another object is to employ elastic tubes, of the p se e se hinged toge e t d Walls automobile inner-tube type for buoying thboat 22 and 23 being attached to the side Walls and to and forsupporting the passenger compartment e et g g hiyhupper and largercatgllies identified in an effective manner. in Fig. y e numerals andHinged o Otherobjects and advantages of the invention e 19 0 t erespective end a s re Seats 34 will be found in the description, thedrawing, and d a Welded o the c s 26 and 1 th hu a d, for fullunderstanding of t are oarlocks 32 and 33. Attached to the sideinvention, reference is to be'had to the following members and 6 is a fle aterdetailed description andacoompanying'drawing; Proof o ering 36, oftreated canvas or othe wh r i suitable material, which forms the entireouter Figure l is a plan of a boat embodying the bottom Portion of t eboat. invention; In its disassembledcondition the boat consists Figure 2is a longitudinal section taken along ifii gg g figg fi gz g ggg g sthe'line 2-2 of Fig. 1; f" W1 J e 5 Figure 3 is an enlarged transversesection taken benjlg fqlded together at ends 1 agam at along thenne ofFig. 2; and their middles (catches 28 and 29 being opened) Figure 4 is adetail View showing the manner so that this unit is one-half the lengthof the in which thettwmpart Side members and boat; (2) the side Walls 20and 2| and the bottom are joined l 7 243-25, :1; :oldel together;2 :3mad 4):;15d waloll In the drawing, the numerals n and I2 indi- Sea W anSea i an cate a pair of annular rubber tube which cong 6)defiatedflgubis i 11 1k veniently maybe inner-tubes, of automobiletires, t 6 0a or 8 1 8 having a cross-sectional diameter of approxi-$.ruc me Is first assemble? unfoldmg the side walls and bottom, andshdmg the end walls mately nme inches when inflated Resting on and seatsinto position' this structure is then these tubes is a pair oflongitudinal members inserted between the spread-apart side memeach 9 Ptwo equal sePtmns and 40 bars (after their middle junctions have beenwmch {Orin the upper slde portfons of i made relatively rigid by closingcatches 28 and boat and 9 together at 171.1811 Opposlte 29), channels 26and 21 being hooked over the ends by hmges and P slde members top edgesof the side members; and, finally, the 1 and are of fiexlble matellal,such tubes II and I2 are inserted in position and as thin wood, so thatthey can be spread apart, i fl t d in assembly, to receive between themat the mid- Employing a pair of ordinary automobile innerdle of theboatv a well-like structure generally tubes for buoyancy the boat canconveniently mdweted y the numeral 1 r comprlsmg a support as many asfour people due to the dispai of i walls 0 and 2 a pair of e d walls 22tribution of their weight upon the tubes through and and a bottom (intwo sections) 24-45. the side members and the seats. An important Theside walls 20 and 2! extend above the end feature of the invention isthe protection against wfaltllsi 22iaind 23 log an finol'izit ecgiailstoItle bite I151? enitrarce ofdwater :ffordgd bay the Ilsiptiardly- 0 esememers an so a, exenmgsiememers and'--. when the structure is inposition, the tops of the The embodiment of the inven'tion herein shownside walls coincide with the tops of the side memand described isobviously susceptible of modification without departing from the spiritof the invention, and I intend therefore to be limited only by the scopeof the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a collapsible boat: a pair of members forming upper portions ofthe sides of the boat, an inflated tube for supporting said members, awell-like structure carried by and between said ,members intermediatetheir ends and extending below the members, and waterproof fabricattached to said members and extending beneath said tube and saidstructure to form the lower part of the boat.

2. In a collapsible boat: a pair of longitudinal members joined togetherat their respective opposite ends and spread outwardly from each otherintermediate their ends to form the upper part of the sides of the boat,an inflated tube for supporting said members, a well-like structurecarried by and between said members intermediate their ends andextending below the members, and waterproof fabric attached to saidmembers and extending beneath said tubev and saidstructure to form thelower part of the boat.

3. In a collapsible boat: a pair of members forming upper portions ofthe sides of the boat, a pair of inflated tubes upon which the oppositeend portions of said members rest, a well-like structure carried by saidmembers and disposed between the members and between said tubes, saidstructure extending below said members, and waterproof fabric attachedto said members and extending beneath said tubes and said structure toform the lower part of the boat.

4. Ina collapsible boat: a pair of longitudinal members joinedtogetherat their respective opposite ends and spread outwardly from each otherintermediate their ends to form the upper part of the sides of the boat,a pair of inflated tubes upon which the opposite end portions of saidmembers rest, a well-like structure carried by said members and disposedbetween the members and between said tubes, said structure extendingbelow said members, and waterproof fabric attached to said members andextending beneath said tubes and said structureto form the lowerv partof the boat.

5 In a collapsible boat: a pair of longitudinal members joined togetherat their respective opposite ends and spread outwardly from each otherintermediate their ends to form the upper'part of the sides of the boat;a pair of inflated elastic tubes upon which the opposite end portions ofsaid members rest; a well-like structure disposed between said membersand between said tubes, said structure comprising side walls, end wallsand a bottom, and being removably attached by its side walls to saidmembers; a seat extending from each of said end walls so that it restsupon a portion of the corresponding one of said tubes; and waterprooffabric attached to said members and extending beneath said tubes andsaid structure to form the lower part of the boat. I

6. In a collapsible boatz'a pair of longitudinal members of substantialheight joined together at their respective opposite ends and spreadapart from each other intermediate their ends to form the upper part ofthe sides of the boat; a pair of annular inflated elastic tubes,horizontally disposed, upon which the opposite end portions of saidmembers rest; a well-like structure disposed between said members andbetween said tubes, said structure comprising side walls, end walls anda bottom, and being removably attached by its side walls to saidmembersso that the tops of said end ,walls are in the general plane of thebottoms of the members; a seat extending from the top of' each of saidend walls and resting upon a portion of the corresponding one of saidtubes; and waterproof fabric attached to said members and extendingbeneath said tubes and said structure to form the lower part of theboat.

7. In a collapsible boat: a pair of longitudinal members of substantialheight joined together at their respective opposite ends and spreadapart from each other intermediate their ends to form the upper part ofthe sides of the'boat; a pair of annular inflated elastic tubes,horizontally disposed, upon which the opposite end portions of saidmembers rest; a generally-rectangular well-like structure disposedbetween said members and betweensaid tubes, said structure comprising apair of side walls, a pair of end walls, and a bottom; said side wallsextending above the tops of said end walls to a height substantiallyequal to that of said members and being removably attached to themembers so that the tops of the end walls are in the general plane ofthe bottoms of the members j a seat extending from the top of each ofsaid end walls and resting upon a portion of the corresponding- ,one ofsaid tubes; and waterproof fabric attached to said members and'extendingbeneath said tubes and said structure to form the lower partof the boat.LLOYD ,E. RABJO-HN.

